.... why would anyone put up with a government that brazenly steals, cheats, sneaks, spies and lies, not to mention alienates, antagonizes, criminalizes and terrorizes its own citizens and then justifies it in the name of safety, security and the greater good?

Why would anyone put up with militarized police officers who shoot first and ask questions later, act as if their word is law, and operate as if they are above the law?

Why would anyone put up with government officials, it doesn’t matter whether they’re elected or appointed, who live an elitist lifestyle while setting themselves apart from the populace, operate outside the rule of law, and act as if they’re beyond reproach and immune from being held accountable?

Unfortunately, not only do we put up with a laundry list of tyrannies that make King George III’s catalogue of abuses look like child’s play, but most actually persist in turning a blind eye to them, acting as if what they don’t see or acknowledge can’t hurt them.

The sad reality, as I make clear in my book A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State, is that life in America is no bed of roses. Nor are there any signs that things will get better anytime soon, at least not for “we the people,” those of us who belong to the so-called “unwashed masses”—the working class stiffs, the hoi polloi, the plebeians, the rabble, the riffraff, the herd, the peons and the proletariats.

Not only is the government unapologetic about spying on its citizens, but government agencies are using their collective surveillance data to carry out Orwellian pre-crime programs that attempt to nab “criminals” before they ever commit a crime. To do so, they have to study our social media posts, our buying habits, and where we travel to and from, and on and on.

We’re still being treated like serfs working for an overlord, with little actual rights when it comes to our property, our bodies, our children or our welfare. It doesn’t really matter what the justifications are for such taxes, regulations, prohibitions and fines if they result in us having little-to-no control over how we live our lives. In Seattle, for example, even one’s trash is subject to government regulation. Residents who fail to separate out their food waste for composting are fined for each violation.

We’re still being fooled into thinking that politics matter and that there’s a difference between the Republicans and Democrats, when in fact, the two parties are exactly the same. As one commentator noted, both parties support endless war, engage in out-of-control spending, ignore the citizenry’s basic rights, have no respect for the rule of law, are bought and paid for by Big Business, care most about their own power, and have a long record of expanding government and shrinking liberty.

Our communities are still being held hostage by militarized police. Despite the fleeting attention paid to the transformation of community police into extensions of the military, the transfer of military equipment from the federal government to localities continues unabated, with more than $28 million worth of tactical equipment distributed in the last quarter of 2014. The federal government, in conjunction with local police, has created a standing army on American soil—something those who drafted our Constitution believed would devastate our freedoms.

Every once in a while, we get tossed a bone to satisfy that gnawing, nagging hunger for something that looks and tastes like freedom, democracy and free enterprise. Political elections, town-hall meetings, awards ceremonies, sports spectacles, high-dollar lotteries, reality TV shows, morning news programs and patriotic-themed blockbuster movies: these are all the trappings of a so-called free nation without the substance (what Shakespeare referred to as a “tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing”). Indeed, Big Business, in conjunction with Big Government, have become very adept at distracting the citizenry so that “we the people” often have no clue as to the real nature of the political game being played.

Temporarily assuaged, easily distracted and suffering from an appalling case of public amnesia, we fall right back into our complacency and compliance, content to turn a blind eye to blatant abuses, forgive past transgressions, and forget all of the reasons why we should be mad as hell about the state of our nation.

So why do I stay? Why do any of us continue to put up with the gut-wrenching, soul-sucking, misery-drenched, demoralizing existence that is America today?

Perhaps I stay because I was raised to believe that anything worth having is worth fighting for, and I believe with every fiber of my being that freedom matters. In fact, I come from a long line of Americans who understood that there is a price to be paid for freedom, whether that means standing up to the British military, sitting down in a bus seat reserved for “whites only,” or pushing back against corporations who pollute our waters and pillage our lands for profit.

Perhaps I soldier on because I remember what it was like to grow up at a time when the only surveillance I had to worry about were the neighbors who reported back to my mother whenever I did something wrong, and I desperately want my grandchildren to experience that kind of carefree existence. I want them to know that there’s more to life than metal detectors, lockdowns, random searches and pre-crime units trying to nab them for a crime if they dare step out of line.

Perhaps I persevere because I know that there are genuinely concerned Americans out there, including some good cops, honest politicians and pragmatic idealists, who want to pitch in and turn things around for the better. As long as there is this small but vocal minority who cares enough to stand up and speak out, then all is not completely lost.

Gentlemen may cry, peace, peace — but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! — I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!

02-16-15

THESIS

STATISM

Obama will unleash his latest executive order, one which will set the stage for "information sharing and analysis organizations" (ISAOs) - or, in political jargon "hubs where companies share cyber threat data with each other and with the Department of Homeland Security." In regular parlance, what Obama will do is merely codify the second coming of the Patriot Act, which as Reuters put it, is "legislation to require more information-sharing and limit any legal liability for companies that share too much." In other words, the Kiss You Privacy Forever order. But don't worry: it is for your own protection.

(By clicking on the play button you agree to have your information shared with not only the NSA but Apple, AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Cisco, Google, and well... everyone else)

Here come the "information sharing and analysis organizations", or ISAOs.

* * *

In the aftermath of the Snowden whistleblowing scandal which has now all but been forgotten, there was a brief period when it seemed the growth of the US spying apparatus would be halted if not put into reverse. Those days are long forgotten and later today Obama is expected to to sign an executive order "that aims to make it easier for the government to share classified cyberthreat information with companies."

The spin, as proposed by the WSJ, is that "this will be effort designed to spur collaboration and deter hackers, the White House said." In reality what Obama's latest executive order will do, is expand the universe of entities that has access to the trove of private confidential data contained in the vast government spying apparatus, which as has been made all too clear now focuses as much on US citizens as it does on legitimate foreign threats, and further eviscerate the concept of individual privacy in the US.

The order sets the stage for new private-sector led "information sharing and analysis organizations" (ISAOs) - hubs where companies share cyber threat data with each other and with the Department of Homeland Security.

It is one step in a long effort to make companies as well as privacy and consumer advocates more comfortable with proposed legislation that would offer participating companies liability protection, the White House said.

"We believe that by clearly defining what makes for a good ISAO, that will make tying liability protection to sectoral organizations easier and more accessible to the public and to privacy and civil liberties advocates," said Michael Daniel, Obama's cyber coordinator, in a conference call with reporters.

Obama will sign the order shortly during a conference on cybersecurity at Stanford University in the heart of Silicon Valley.

As the WSJ adds, "much could depend on whether intelligence agencies such as the National Security Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency participate in any arrangement that allows classified information to be shared with companies." Sadly, if history is any guide, the NSA, whose "safekeeping" of private US citizen data has a woeful track record, will be quite instrumental in spearheading an effort which many have dubbed the Patriot Act for the digital age.

Ironically, this latest move comes as as big Silicon Valley companies "prove hesitant to fully support more mandated cybersecurity information sharing without reforms to government surveillance practices exposed by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden."

Cybersecurity industry veterans said Obama's anticipated order would be only a modest step in one of the president's major priorities - the defense of companies from attacks like those on Sony and Anthem Inc.

Obama has proposed legislation to require more information-sharing and limit any legal liability for companies that share too much. Only Congress can provide the liability protection through legislation.

The bottom line is that all Obama is really doing is not only promoting data sharing between the government and key private corporations - and one wonders just how reciprocal such sharing will be - but effectively indeminifes them from obtaining and processing such data. "Businesses are unlikely to share a lot of timely and "actionable" cyber intelligence without liability relief, said Mike Brown, a vice president with the RSA security division of EMC Corp."

"Until that gets resolved, probably through legislation, I'm not sure how effective continued information-sharing will be," said Brown, a retired Naval officer and former cyber official with the Department of Homeland Security.

Senator Tom Carper, the top Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security committee, introduced a bill this week that incorporates much of Obama's plan. But Republicans control Congress, and they have yet to sign on to the idea.

"This is an urgent matter and we are working with anyone that we can up on the Hill to make that happen," said Daniel, who had not yet reviewed Carper's bill.

Getting a bill through Congress will require at least the support of big Silicon Valley companies such as Google Inc and Facebook Inc.

Curiously one company which has no qualms about collaborating with the US government also happens to be the largest company in the world currently by market cap:

Obama also will meet privately with some executives on Friday. They are expected to press again for surveillance reform and support for strong encryption, which some in the administration have faulted recently on the grounds that it enables criminals and terrorists to hide their activity.

Google, Facebook and Yahoo are not sending their chief executives to the Stanford conference because of the rift, according to an executive at a major technology company. Apple Inc Chief Executive Tim Cook will give an address.

Many questions, but one thing is clear: America's relapse into the second coming of the Patriot Act is coming fast and furious, which as some also say is par for the course for the president who, just like Bush, has now been given a blank check to send US troops not only to Iraq but any place where "ISIS operates", if only at the discretion of the Pentagon.

So to summarize:

the good news: no more North Korean "hacks" of Sony straight to YouTube comedy flops.

the bad news: the trade off will be even less personal privacy for those who feel the urge to be constantly on their smartphones and otherwise connected to the grid.

Tipping Points Life Cycle - ExplainedClick on image to enlarge

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